Hook-stay assembly for fabric fastening



March 15, 1955 1 MARKIN 2,703,915

HOOK-STAY ASSEMBLY FOR FABRIC FASTENING Filed April 20, S1954 2 Sheets-Sheetv 1 'Il l ATTORNEY 2 Sheets-#Sheet 2 L. MARKN HOOK-STAY ASSEMBLY FOR FABRIC FASTENING Filed April 20. 1954 /ighi March l5, 1955 INVENTOR L 0a 5 MA1/QH /A/ BY %%mb ATTORNEY United States Patent O HOOK-STAY ASSEMBLY FOR FABRIC FASTENING Louis Markin, Chicago, lll., assignor to Hook-Flex Corporation, a corporation of Illinois Application April 20, 1954, Serial No. 424,309

10 Claims. (Cl. 24-227) This invention relates to a hook-stay assembly for use in fastening together flaps of clothing and particularly for use at the waistband of mens trousers.

` This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applications Serial Nos. 284,858, filed April 29, 1952, and 327,359, filed December 22, 1952.

The desirability of a hook and eye fastener for mens trousers has been realized for some time. In the past, the hook and eye required an intricate folding of the fabric in order to secure them in place and usually required that the hook be sewn into the fabric. Such sewing was adequate at the beginning but continual use and wear often caused the threads to break thus releasing the hook.

Prior hook structures have also been objectionable, in that they often were fastened to the material in suc a Way that a sudden or excessive pull on the hook could tear the material.

The hooks and eyes previously used have become increasingly expensive due primarily to the necessary labor required to put the parts into clothing articles. The present invention permits use of the hook and eye for only a fraction of the cost of formerly used hooks and eyes and yet provides an improved assembly.

The present invention is concerned primarily with the hook-stay assembly which is secured to the fabric in a novel manner rmly anchoring the assembly to the fabric in a permanent fashion. Continued use of the hook in fastening, for example, the fly of mens trousers, will not alter the firm anchoring of the hook to the material. The manner and means of fastening the hook to the material also avoids any tearing or rupture of the threads forming the fabric.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a broken front plan view showing the hook and eye in proper position on a pair of trousers;

Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the hook plate and stay plate prior to installation on a fabric;

Figure 3 is a bottom plan view of the hook-stay assembly mounted on a piece of fabric;

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the hook-stay assembly mounted on the fabric;

Figure 5 is a section view through the assembly taken substantially along line 5-5 in Figure 4;

Figure 6 is a section similar to Figure 5 taken substantially along line 6-6 in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a section through the assembly taken substantially along line 7-7 in Figure 4;

Figure 8 is an exploded perspective view of a modifled hook plate having two prongs and stay plate prior to installation on a fabric;

Figure 9 is a bottom plan view of the hook-stay assembly shown in Figure 8 mounted on a piece of fabric;

Figure 10 is a section view through the assembly taken substantially along line 10-10 in Figure 9;

Figure l1 is a section view through the assembly taken substantially along line 10-10 in Figure 9 showing the hooks in clinched position;

Figure l2 s a section view through the assembly taken substantially along line 12--12 in Figure 11; and

Figure 13 is a section view through the assembly taken substantially along line 13-13 in Figure 1l.

In the assembly of the hook and eye on a pair of trousers as shown in Figure 1, the tongue 10 of the hook is shown visibly on a flap 11 of a pair of trousers 12 and is positioned just above a slidable fastener 13.

2,703,915 Patented Mar. 15, 1955 ICC The other ap 14 of the trousers carries an eye 15 also Just above the fastener 13. The hook and eye are at the waistband portion 16 of the trousers and are used in place of a button or other fastener. The trousers are constructed in a manner to expose only the operating portions of the hook and eye assembly. As casually observed, only the tongue 10 of the hook assembly will be visible, and with a closer scrutiny, the base 17 can be seen under the tongue 10. This tongue is rounded on its leading edge 18 so as to provide for easy insertion under the eye 15. The present invention is concerned primarily with the hook-stay assembly, it being understood that the eye 15 can be secured by any suitable means.

The particular portions of the hook plate and stay plate may be observed from the perspective view of Figure 2. The hook is made of sheet metal of substantially thicker stock than the stay plate 25. The tongue 10 and the base 17 are almost parallel, the tongue extending slightly outwardly so that the leading edge 13 may guide the hook into clasping relation with the eye. The hook is formed from a single piece of metal and is bent upon itself to form the the tongue and base.

The connection of the hook and stay is accomplished by a number of needle-like fabric piercing prongs integral with the hook. A pair of these prongs 19 extend outwardly and substantially normal to the base 17 from the outer edges 20 of the base. A third similar prong 21 also extends outwardly from an integral forwardly extending portion 22 of the base. These prongs are thus positioned in a symmetrical pattern and as may be seen from Figures 3 and 4, are substantially located opposite the center portion of the tongue 10. This is the form of the hook plate just prior to its application to a fabric.

The stay plate is also formed of sheet metal but of a considerably thinner stock. The stay plate is somewhat exible and may be bent by pressure exerted by a persons ngers. A considerable force is necessary and it should be understood that normally there is no tendency of the plate to change its shape as shown in the drawlugs.

The stay plate is slightly larger than the hook plate as may be seen from Figures 3 and 4. The plate is provided with a pair of aligned openings 26 for receiving the pair of aligned prongs 19 on the hook plate. At one edge of each opening 26, i. e. contiguous thereto, there are integral lugs 27 which are bent downwardly from the plane of the plate prior to the assembly. These lugs act as rough guides for centering the prongs 19 in the openings 26. The metal of the plate is offset upwardly on the side of the openings opposite the lugs 27 to provide recesses 28 to receive the prongs 19 after they are inserted through the openings and turned toward the edge 29 of the plate.

A third opening 30 is formed in the plate to receive the prong 21. A similar recess 31 is provided adjacent the opening to accommodate the prong after it is bent over. It will be noted that the recesses extend from the openings 26 in a direction opposite to that of the recess 31 adjacent the opening 30. In the attachment of the assembly to a fabric, the hooks are intended to be turned in opposite directions to firmly anchor the assembly to the fabric.

The attachment of the assembly to a fabric is accomplished in a manner to insure locking of the assembly in position with a rm grip on the fabric. The prongs are all formed in needle fashion so that they are pointed and tapered to form their own opening in the material through which they are forced. Upon insertion of the prongs through a fabric, the threads of the fabric are parted and gradually forced apart without breaking any of the threads. While the prongs are considerably wider at their base than at the points, this needle-like structure has the effect of preventing tearing of the cloth.

The attachment is accomplished by means of a setting device using a die and press as described in the copending application of Ellery M. Brayton, Serial No. 327,178, liled December 22, 1952.

The hook-stay assembly is shown as attached to a piece of fabric in Figures 3-7. In Figure 5, it will be noted that during a portion of the assembly the prongs 19 and 21 extend through the fabric F and through the openings in the stay plate 25. The recesses 28 and 31 also provide raised areas or panels upon the opposite side of the plate that press the fabric upwardly with the former recesses forcing the fabric into tight engagement with the base 17 of the hook. This pressure is maintained by crimping over the prongs 19 into the recesses 28 while the pressure is maintained on the assembly. The particular position of the prongs 19 in the recesses 28 may be seen in Figure 6 In the same operation that forces the prongs through the material and crimps them into the recesses, the lugs 27 are forced upwardly from their dotted line position shown in Figure to the full line position shown in Figure 6. In this operation, these lugs lock against the fabric material and the base portion 32 of the prongs 19 securely locking the hook plate to the stay plate. After the assembly in this manner the stay plate and the hook plate may not be moved relative to each other. Also contributing to this locking is the angular portion 33 of the prong 21 which extends past and abuts the edge 34 of the opening 30 which received the prong 21. The lugs and angular portion plus the fact that the prongs are turned in opposite directions, firmly and securely fastens the hook plate and stay plate together. The fabric is caught between the two plates under the pressure exerted during assembly. The metal of the hook and of the prongs is of sufficient thickness to retain the bent over shape given to the prongs during the pressure assembly. There thus can be no change in the pressure exerted on the fabric even after considerable use of the hook in an article of clothing.

Another form of the hook-stay assembly of this invention is shown in Figures 8 to 13. The hook shown in Figure 8 is desirably produced from sheet metal which is stamped and bent to provide a tongue 110 that is arcuately contoured along its free edge and oppositely thereof is reversely bent to connect with a base 111 from which is centrally extended an ear 112 having a rounded free edge. The base and its ear are so configured as to lie within the contines of the tongue by a substantial margin. A pair of prongs 114 is projected normally from the base at points outwardly of the ears 112.

The hook component H also includes a stay S adapted for positioning directly opposite the hook base 111. This stay which is in the form of a generally rounded plate is provided with a pair of aligned slots 120 located adjacent opposite margins thereof. Each slot is located intermediately of (1) a sunken panel 121, which is inset toward the hook base 111, thereby to lie in a plane somewhat closer thereto than the remainder of the stay, and (2) a shoulder or lug 122 which is initially angled out of the plane of the stay in a direction that is away from the hook H (see Figure In the process of assembling the two hook components, the prongs 114 are forced through the fabric ap to enter the slots 120 of the stay S and project therebeyond. Up to this point there is little or no compression of the fabric ap between the hook base 111 and its stay S.

With the parts thus positioned, the clinching mechanism is brought into operation to do certain things at substantially one and the same moment, viz: (l) hold the hook base 111 tightly against one face of the fabric flap, thereby causing the angled ear 112 to compress the flap with a maximum of pressure in the area of its rounded free edge and abuttingly engage therewith; (2) advance the stay toward the opposite face of the fabric thereby to cause the inset panels 121 to compress the flap against the hook base 111 and engage abuttingly with the fabric; (3) bend the two prongs 114 through 90 into engagement with the inset panels where the prongs occupy the spaces vacated by insetting of the panels, the panels being thereby maintained in their advanced positions of compression; and (4) bend the shoulders or lugs 122 from their initial outwardly angled positions of Figure 10 to the inwardly angled positions of Figure ll where they are advanced toward the angled ear 112 one to cach side thereof, to compress and crimp the fabric material therebetween, and also engage abuttingly therewith. At the completion of this operation the two components of the hook are locked inseparably together on opposite faces of the fabric which is compressed and crimped therebetween in two separate areas', viz: between (l) the hook base 111 and stay panels 122 which are disposed in parallel planes, and (2) the ear 112 and the shoulders 122 which are angled toward each other to provide points of maximum compression.

It will be noted that the means employed to anchor the hook in place comprise more than a couple of prongs which pierce the fabric to engage with the stay plate. Without further securement, the prongs would subject the ap fabric to a dangerous localized strain in case of a strong pull on the hook. The anchorage is augmented in large part by a high degree of compression imposed upon the fabric at spaced points between the hook base and stay whereby both to abut and crimp the fabric laterally and longitudinally of the hook (see Figures 11 and 12). The prongs hold the hook upon the fabric flap and the inset panels, the ear and the shoulders apply compression at spaced points to abut and crimp the fabric, thereby to distribute widely and safely the strain that is imposed upon the y ap whenever the hook is subjected to a sudden or excessive pull.

The hook-stay assembly of this invention provides a means for securely fastening the hook to a fabric in a manner requiring but a fraction of former costs while providing a l'irm assembly which will not come loose or tear the fabric even with continued use.

While I have shown and described certain embodiments of my invention, it is to be understood that it is capable of many modifications. Changes, therefore, in the construction and arrangement may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as disclosed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a fabric fastener a metal stay plate having a plurality of openings arranged in predetermined spaced relationship and a metal hook plate having a tongue and a base, the latter having a plurality of needle-like fabric piercing prongs complementary to said openings, portions of said metal stay plate having lugs adjacent at least to some of said openings, said lugs being adapted when bent at a slight angle away from said base to the plate to provide rough alignment for centering the prongs in the openings and when bent up toward the base firmly to engage the fabric and their respective prongs, said stay plate being offset contiguous each opening opposite the lug associated therewith to provide prong receiving recesses upon one side of said plate and pressure areas for engaging the fabric upon the opposite side of said plate. said prongs being clamped into parallel relation with the stay plate on the side thereof opposite said hook lying within said recesses, with some of the prongs being turned in opposite direction to the others.

2. In a hook and eye fastener for detachably connecting complementary garment portions including an eye unit attachable to one of said portions; a stapletype hook unit attachable to the other of said garment portions and comprising complementary hook and stay plate members forming said hook unit, said hook member having a tongue portion detachably engageable with said eye unit for connecting and disconnecting said garment portions and having a substantially planar base portion with a pair of spaced prongs extending rearwardly therefrom and an integral portion between said prongs carrying a third prong, and said stay plate member having apertures aligned with and adapted to receive said prongs when extending therethrough, said prongs being bendable over the back of said stay plate, and lug means extending from one edge of some of said apertures and adapted to be bent forwardly at a slight angle from the plane of said stay plate toward said hook base for enhancing the compression of garment material between said base portion and stay plate member when secured together and to distribute over a wide extent thereof transverse stresses applied to said hook unit, said third prong being bendable over the stay plate member in opposite direction to said pair of prongs to rmly anchor the hook unit to a garment portion.

3. A stay plate adapted for firmly anchoring a hook in a fabric, comprising a bendable metal plate at least a portion of the metal of the plate in a predetermined spaced relationship being provided with aligned openings for receiving an equal number of prongs carried by the hook, said plate having lugs contiguous to said openings and adapted to be bent at a slight angle from the lower side of the plate to provide rough alignment for centering the prongs as they are passed through said openings and adapted to be bent upward to firmly engage the prongs passing through their respective openings and also the fabric held between the stay plate and the hook, said plate being upwardly offset contiguous each opening opposite the lug associated therewith to provide a recess in the lower side of the plate for receiving the end of the bent prong projecting through the opening and a pressure area for engaging the fabric on the upper side of the plate.

4. A stay plate adapted for firmly anchoring a hook in a fabric comprising, a metal plate having portions of the metal provided with predetermined spaced openings for receiving an equal number of prongs carried by the hook, said plate having lugs at said openings adapted to be bent downwardly to provide rough alignment for centering the prongs as they are passed through said openings and adapted to be bent upwardly to lock the prongs in said openings, said plate being upwardly offset contiguous each opening opposite the lug associated therewith to provide a prong end receiving recess in the lower side and a pressure area on the upper side for engaging the fabric.

5. In a fastening for a fabric fly to one flap of which is affixed an eye, a hook-stay assembly carried by the other y flap, the hook comprising (l) a tongue for engaging said eye, a base in engagement with one face of the flap, and prongs extended from the base in a direction normal thereto and arranged to penetrate the fabric flap and project beyond the opposite face thereof, and (2) a stay plate arranged against the fabric ap face opposite that which is engaged by the base of the hook, the stay plate being formed with slots, one oppositely of each prong for reception thereof, a pressure area integral with the stay plate and offset into a plane toward the hook base for pressure abutting engagement with the fabric, and a lug contiguous each slot on one side thereof and disposed angularly toward the hook base in pressure abutting engagement with the fabric, the prongs extending from said base being bent through 90 to lie in clinching relation with the stay plate.

6. A hook-stay assembly according to claim 5 in which the offset pressure areas are both elongated and arranged in parallelism with one end of each area contiguous one of the slots to permit occupancy, by one of the prongs when inserted and bent to clinching position, in the space vacated by the pressure area.

7. A hook-stay assembly according to claim 5 in which the offset pressure areas are two in number, both elongated and arranged in parallelism with one end of each adjacent one of the slots, and in which the lugs are two in number, each disposed contiguous one of the slots on a side thereof which is opposite the proximate pressure areas.

8. A hook-stay assembly according to claim 5 in which the lugs are two in number, each disposed contiguous one of the slots, and in which means is extended from the base and angled toward the fabric for pressure abutting engagement therewith at a point intermediately of the two lugs to cooperate therewith in crimping the fabric therebetween.

9. For fastening a fabric iiy to one flap of which is afiixed an eye, a hook-stay assembly carried by the other y flap, the hook comprising (1) a tongue for engaging the eye, a base in engagement with one face of the flap, and prongs extended from the base in a direction normal thereto and arranged to penetrate the fabric ap and project beyond the opposite face thereof, and means extended from the hook base angled toward the fabric for pressure abutting engagement therewith, and (2) a stay plate arranged against the fabric flap face opposite that which is engaged by the base of the hook, the stay plate being formed with slots, one oppositely of each prong for reception thereof, a pressure area integral with the stay plate and offset into a plane toward the hook base for pressure abutting engagement with the fabric and a lug disposed angularly toward the hook base in pressure abutting engagement with the fabric, said lug to cooperate with the angled means extended from the hook base in providing therebetween points of maximum compression on the fabric, the prongs being bent ttllrough to lie in clinching relation with the stay p ate.

l0. For fastening a fabric fiy to one ap of which is affixed an eye, a hook-stay assembly carried by the other fly flap, the hook comprising 1) a tongue for engaging the eye, a base in engagement with one face of the flap, and prongs extended from the base in a direction normal thereto and arranged to penetrate the fabric ap and project beyond the opposite face thereof, and means extended from the hook base angled toward the fabric for pressure abutting engagement therewith, and (2) a stay plate arranged against the fabric ap face opposite that which is engaged by the base of the hook, the stay plate being formed with slots, one oppositely of each prong for reception thereof, a pressure area integral with the stay plate and offset into a plane toward the hook base for pressure abutting engagement with the fabric, and a pair of lugs, each disposed contiguous one of the slots, said lugs to cooperate with the angled means extended from the hook base in providing therebetween points of maximum compression on the fabric intermediately of the pair of lugs, said lugs being disposed angularly toward the hook base in pressure abutting engagement with'the fabric, the prongs being bent through 90 to lie in clinching relation with the stay plate.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Re. 14,130 Rittenhouse May 9, 1916 131,174 Marston Sept. 10, 1872 290,774 Ivins Dec. 25, 1883 833,533 Longenecker Oct. 16, 1906 1,732,904 Miller Oct. 22, 1929 1,993,734 Edelheit Mar. 12, 1935 2,593,162 Markin Apr. 15, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 482,764 Great Britain Apr. 5, 1938 

